The government has raised natural gas supply prices for the industrial sector, setting a minimum selling price of no less than $6.50 per million British thermal units (MMBtu) for energy-intensive industries. The measure was enacted under Decree No. 1306 of 2026 issued by Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly and published in the Egyptian official gazette El‑Waqai’ el‑Misriyya.

Accordingly, the cement industry will now be charged $14 per MMBtu, while the price for iron and steel, non-nitrogen fertilizers, and petrochemical industries has been set at $7.75 per MMBtu. All other industrial activities will be charged a rate of $6.75 per MMBtu.

The move has been expected for a while amid the increase in international oil and gas prices on the back of the growing tensions in the Middle East and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

In March, the government lifted domestic fuel prices by as much as 17 percent to counter surging global energy costs, while moving to scale back fuel and electricity subsidies under an $8 billion program agreed with the International Monetary Fund.

Egypt’s energy import bill ​has ⁠more than doubled, while monthly natural gas import costs have nearly tripled since the ⁠outbreak ​of the U.S.-Israeli war with ​Iran, with increased reliance on LNG imports or regional producers, noted Reuters.